Christopher Peloso will be remembered as a man who had a “real joy” for living, but who struggled with life as a politician’s spouse, a close family friend told the Star.

Peloso, 40, was found dead early on Monday after disappearing for the second time this year. The husband of former Ontario deputy premier and Toronto mayoral candidate George Smitherman was last seen around 11 a.m. on Sunday in the Bloor St. W. and Lansdowne Ave. area.

Police confirmed his death, but would not comment further.

Statement from George Smitherman. December 30, 2013. "He will always be remembered for his dedication to others." http://t.co/hs8B6GdNgD

Former Toronto mayor Barbara Hall said Peloso was “an immensely private person who moved into the glass box of political life” when he married Smitherman in 2007.

“He struggled with that,” she said.

Hall stood by Smitherman’s side when Peloso first went missing in September and was discovered dirty and confused by a Toronto police dog near train tracks in the city’s west end.

Now chief commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, Hall recounted how Peloso stayed at home during Smitherman’s 2010 mayoral campaign to raise their recently adopted baby and she would often join him to help out.

“He was a professional in the chocolate and candy industry,” she said, “and he put that all on hold to raise a family.”

Politicians of all stripes paid tribute to Peloso on Monday, including a visibly emotional Premier Kathleen Wynne.

“It’s a very, very sad day for George and his family and Christopher Peloso’s family,” she told reporters after handing out food hampers to residents in Toronto’s east end who had been without power for over six days.

Wynne said she contacted Smitherman by email before Peloso’s body was found. Standing beside her partner, Jane Rounthwaite, Wynne said they both knew Peloso, describing him as a “kind, gentle, loving man.”

“He will be hugely missed and my thoughts and love are with George and the kids . . . it’s just a very, very sad day for the family.”

Foreign Minister John Baird, who sat in the Ontario legislature with Smitherman in the late 1990s and early 2000s, tweeted his condolences. “My thoughts and prayers go out to my friend (George) Smitherman and his two wonderful children on their loss,” Baird tweeted Monday.

Mayor Rob Ford, who defeated Smitherman in the 2010 election, released a statement expressing his condolences.

“It is with great sadness that I have learned of the passing of Mr. Christopher Peloso, husband to Mr. George Smitherman, and loving father,” he said. “I would ask all Torontonians to extend their condolences to the family during this difficult time.”

Peloso’s relatives in his hometown, Sudbury, could not be reached Monday and had no comment Sunday evening.

In a statement, Smitherman said “We will celebrate his life and we will find comfort somehow in knowing that he has found peace from the depression that has wreaked havoc on his mind.

“A son and brother, a husband and father of three he will always be remembered for his dedication to others.”

Smitherman and Peloso were married in front of 200 friends and family in 2007 at a resort in the northern mining community of Elliot Lake, Ont. They have two adopted children — a son and a daughter.

Peloso also leaves a 20-year-old daughter from a previous relationship.

When Peloso went missing in September, his mother, Mary Ann, told the Star, “The first thing I thought was he needed a break, he needed to get away for a bit . . . But as things went on longer and longer, we got concerned something had happened.”

She described Peloso as a “perfectionist,” “very patient” and “very loving. He has been a wonderful father with the kids.”

His father, Reno, said then that Peloso and Smitherman’s marriage was a happy one, “with its high and low points, just like a typical marriage.”

Peloso’s death serves as a reminder that we still have a long way to go dealing with the stigma of mental health, Hall said.

“We have to work to change people’s attitudes so that people with mental illness are treated the same as people with physical disabilities.”

With files from Star staff

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